


The Way to a Man's Heart is Through A Brand Deal

by jaicubed



Category: Youtubers
Genre: M/M, zeath - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 01:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14321103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaicubed/pseuds/jaicubed
Summary: Zane and Heath broke up months ago, but that doesn't stop Zane from asking Heath to help him with a series of Blue Apron videos. (Not an entire fic. Just the climax. No, not that kind. Ha.)





	The Way to a Man's Heart is Through A Brand Deal

Zane hated asparagus.

It was the reason Heath had the plate in front of him now, steaming hot and ready to eat. It was one of the better Blue Apron meals they’d made, in his opinion, but Zane had wrinkled his nose and sent it home with him. 

He looked down at it, hungry and resentful at the same time. Stupid Blue Apron. Stupid asparagus.

It had started four months ago when Zane had shown up on his doorstep, a box under one arm and a hopeful smile on his face. He’d gotten a huge brand deal with Blue Apron, so big that Heath almost fell over when Zane told him what they were willing to pay if Zane made a cooking video every week for the next couple of months.

The problem was, Zane didn’t cook. He didn’t have any equipment or expertise. This is apparently where Heath came in. Be Zane’s cooking partner for the videos, get half the money. 

Heath had agreed to the plan because he needed the money. Pretty much everyone told him that it was a bad idea, that the money wasn’t worth it, and didn’t Zane have any  _other_  friends he could ask? But he’d brushed them off. It had been months since they’d broken up. He was a man, for fuck’s sake.

He had a plan too, in any case. He’d help Zane, and be the sweetest, most attentive and supportive friend that one could possibly have. And then Zane would realize what a mistake he’d made and beg him to take him back, and Heath would have the satisfaction of saying, “Sorry, sweetie, but no.”

This is not how things had panned out.

They had one video left to film, and Heath was as in love with Zane as ever. He’d known he was in trouble from the very first meal they’d made, when his heart had flipped over when he watched Zane adorably flail around the kitchen, totally out of his element. He knew it wasn’t just nostalgia. He still had plenty of feelings for Zane that were happy to roar to life with the proper stoking.

 _He_  hadn’t been the one to end things, after all.

Zane hadn’t offered much of a reason for breaking up, only that he thought he and Heath were “better off as friends.” Heath had been too shocked at the time to press for anything further. And he’d nursed a broken heart for the next several months, seeing Zane every once in awhile, texting a little bit. But it wasn’t until this whole Blue Apron thing that they’d really started to see more of each other.

The thing was, Zane had easily fallen back into their friendship. He joked around with Heath while they were cooking, even flirted a little bit, like they used to. They started to go out for coffee again. And every time Zane asked him to hang out, he couldn’t help but say yes, even though it was making him miserable. He couldn’t be just friends with Zane, not anymore. 

Their relationship had been intense from the beginning. Once the floodgates had been opened, years of pent up feelings were released. The sex was incredible. Heath could say “I love you” and not feel any doubt, no niggling in the back of his head that said, “But do you  _really_?” And he thought Zane had felt the same way.

Heath dumped the asparagus thing they’d made into the garbage. He couldn’t even look at it, let alone eat it.

One more video, and then he’d be done. He’d tell Zane that he couldn’t be friends, and he’d delete Zane’s number from his phone and he’d move on. 

Hopefully.

******

“I can’t believe that was our last video!” Zane scooped the rest of their chicken dish onto a plate and covered it with plastic before tossing it into the refrigerator. “I think we need to go out for a beer to celebrate!”

Zane was grinning so wide that it hurt for Heath to look at him. He had a crazy moment of second thoughts- maybe they could be friends, maybe he could make it work.

He shook his head. He knew he couldn’t.

“Actually, I’m pretty tired,” Heath said, trying to sound apologetic. “But thank you, for everything. I mean it.”

Zane’s smile faltered a bit. “Well, we don’t have to go out, then. I think I saw some beers in the fridge.”

“I think you should go, Zane,” Heath said softly. It had come out easier than he’d expected.

“Oh, okay,” Zane replied, a bit taken aback. “Well, maybe tomorrow you’ll feel up to it.”

“We can’t be friends.” The bluntness had the effect Heath wanted.

“What?” Zane’s eyes were wide, and hurt. He looked shocked.

“I know you said we were better off as friends, but I can’t be friends.” Heath rubbed his face vigorously, hoping he could stop the tears he already felt pricking the backs of his eyes. “It’s torture. I’m not doing it to myself anymore.”

Zane opened his mouth, but Heath held up his hand, his eyes pleading. “You may have been able to write off what we had as a fling, or a momentary lapse in judgment, I don’t fucking know. But it meant something to me. And I’m never going to be able to go back to how things were before. So please, just go.”

Heath looked away, hoping Zane would leave before he started to cry like a girl. 

“No.” 

Heath whipped his head back. Zane was leaning against the kitchen counter, his face hard.

“What did you say?” Heath asked, incredulous.

“I said, no. I’m not leaving.” Zane pushed off the counter and started towards Heath.

“Fuck you,” Heath spat. “This is my house. And when I tell you to go, you need to-”

Zane cut him off, grabbing his shoulders and kissing him so hard that it sucked all of the air out of Heath’s lungs.

When they parted, Zane must have known Heath was getting ready to throw a punch because he grabbed both of his wrists, holding him fast.

“It meant something to me, too. It meant so much that it was fucking terrifying. Going from never being in a serious relationship in my entire life, to knowing I would fucking  _die_  for you? I...” Zane released Heath’s wrists and looked up at the ceiling, blinking hard.

Well, at least both of them would be crying.

“It was too intense, baby. I couldn’t imagine a future without you. But I’m only twenty-seven, fuck. I didn’t think I could commit myself like that. I just couldn’t fucking handle it. So I chickened out. I was a pussy.” Zane looked at Heath and laughed bitterly. “And then I was miserable. I missed you so much. Time didn’t make it any better. So when I got this Blue Apron thing, I...I knew it was my chance. Even if you didn’t want to be with me again, at least...at least we’d be friends. Like we used to.”

Heath couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had known Zane had the emotional intelligence of an ant, but  _fuck_.

“You’re an idiot. Why didn’t you just say it was too much? We could have slowed things down.” Heath gestured towards the bedroom. “I was a  _wreck_. I spent the first month barely able to get out of bed. You did that to me.”

“Because I thought you would break up with me, think I wasn’t interested,” Zane said, running a hand through his hair, and Heath laughed.

“So you decided to break up with  _me_  instead?”

“At least if I did it, I’d have some sort of control,” Zane replied. He shook his head. “When we were together, I was out of my mind for you. You could have asked me to jump out in front of a car on Hollywood Boulevard and I would have done it.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, well, it’s true,” Zane said. He wiped at his eyes. ”I’m still that crazy about you. But now I know that feeling so out of control I can’t think straight is a whole lot better than feeling like I’m going to die from missing you. Please, don’t kick me out. Please.”

Well, maybe Heath’s plan had worked out after all. But he felt no satisfaction. None. 

He wanted to stick to his guns, tell Zane, “Too fucking bad. You broke my heart. Get out of my house.” But knowing that Zane still loved him, and that he’d been just as miserable, was making that impossible.

“And what if you stayed? I won’t allow you to be my friend. You’d have to be my boyfriend. Will you leave again in a few months? Because I can’t go through that again. Not like that.”

“I’ll never leave you again." Zane said it so fiercely it was like he was devoting his life to Christ and entering the priesthood.

Heath could feel joy blossoming in his stomach and spreading throughout his limbs. But he didn’t jump up and down, or take Zane’s hand and run off to the bedroom. If he did that, this whole thing would start all over again.

He put his hands on Zane’s shoulders and kissed him once. “I really am tired. Go home. But text me. Tomorrow.”

Heath could feel Zane’s hands hovering near his hips, dying to grab on and pull him close. “I thought you weren’t going to kick me out.”

“I’m not ‘kicking you out.’ I’m taking things slow,” Heath replied with a small smile. “Wouldn’t want you to get too overwhelmed, Princess.”

“Shut up,” Zane mumbled, but his eyes were bright. “I love you.”

“Not helping your case here, Princess.”

Zane kissed him soundly.

“I love you, too,” Heath whispered breathlessly when they parted.

“That’s what I thought.”


End file.
